HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Karl Malone scored seven of his 25 points in
a run bridging the halves as the Utah Jazz gained some breathing
room atop the Western Conference with a 91-78 victory over the
slumping Houston Rockets.

Jeff Hornacek added 17 points and Bryon Russell 16 for the Jazz
(36-12), who lead the Portland Trail Blazers by one game for the
top seed in the West and the best record in the league. Utah,
which swept the three-game season series from Houston, also
leads San Antonio by two games atop the Midwest Division.

"I don't think we have their number at all," said Malone, who
went 9-of-14 from the field. "With a great team like Houston,
we just go out and play hard all game. It's the little things
you have to do and when you do, you have a great shot at
winning."

Malone scored four points in a 9-0 burst to close the half and
had a three-point play in an 8-2 spurt to start the second. The
Jazz took a 58-43 lead on a layup by John Stockton with 7:49 to
play in the third quarter.

Hakeem Olajuwon scored 28 points and Scottie Pippen added 15 for
Houston (28-19), which has lost five of its last six games. The
Rockets fell into a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for fourth
place in the West and already lost the season series, 2-1.

"We've got to understand that we are doing positive things,"
said Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich. "We fought back in the
second half, had the game at five points and just could not make
a breakthrough. We just lost our poise and made some fouls that
weren't very intelligent and just handed them the game at the
end."

Charles Barkley pulled the Rockets into a 41-41 tie with 2:02
left in the first half on a pair of free throws. But Shandon
Anderson drilled a 3-pointer before Malone hit a 13-footer and
two foul shots to give the Jazz a 48-41 lead. Greg Foster made
a 17-foot jumper right before halftime to give Utah a nine-point
cushion.

Russell started the second half with a 3-pointer and Malone
added a three-point play to extend the Jazz's lead to 56-41 with
10:57 left. Rookie Cuttino Mobley had a dunk for the Rockets,
but Stockton's layup restored the 15-point lead.

The Rockets pulled within 68-63 by the end of the third quarter
but missed their first eight shots of the final period. The
Jazz opened a 79-65 lead with 4:11 to play on a three-point play
by Malone, who had six points in the 11-2 run. Houston did not
score from the field until a 3-pointer by Price nine seconds
later.

"We had a team meeting, it was just the players," said Price.
"It was good to get some perspective and get some things off our
chest. It's going to take each individual to step up. This is
a stretch that should have been good but we let it turn around."

"Calling our offense stagnant would be the biggest
understatement of the year," said Barkley, who was 4-of-9 from
the floor. "I'm very disappointed and frustrated about
tonight's game. I don't have any excuse... we're just playing
terrible right now."

Stockton had nine assists and Greg Ostertag blocked seven shots
for Utah, which shot 47 percent (34-of-73) from the field and
held Houston to 38 percent (26-of-69).

"It was an overall team effort," said Russell. "Ostertag played
tremendously and played like a big man is supposed to play."

"I think everybody on the team did a good job," said Ostertag.
"We were very active defensively, but I think it was an
all-around team effort."

Houston's rookie backcourt tandem of Mobley and Michael
Dickerson again struggled against the ageless duo of Stockton
and Hornacek, making just 1-of-10 shots. Dickerson went 0-of-7
from the field.

In the three losses to the Jazz, Dickerson and Mobley went a
combined 10-of-39 from the field and totaled 28 points.

"It happens sometimes," Tomjanovich said of the rookies'
struggles. "I'm not going to put it on them, a lot of other
things are going on."

Stockton and Hornacek were 24-of-59 from the floor against
Houston this season, totaling 68 points.